Christopher Whiteside is a Conservative activist who lives and works in Copeland with his wife and family.
Chris is a recent chairman of Cumbria Conservatives, a former member of Copeland Borough council, and an Honorary Alderman of the City and District of St Albans. He is a former Conservative parliamentary candidate, and stood in the 2015 Mayoral election in Copeland.

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Rubbish bin saga

The fine imposed on a Whitehaven bus driver for putting four inches' worth too much rubbish in his bin has been paid by an anonymous donor. A Shewsbury company which makes Refuse compactors, "Waste Pact" has donated to the family one of their products called “The Little Crusher” which should prevent the issue from arising again. fits in the kitchen.

The Rector of Whitehaven, the Reverend John Bannister, had orgaganised a collection to pay the fine: he said that several hundred pounds had been pledged to pay the court penalty, with donations ranging from a few pounds to £50, but the amount was covered in full by one anonymous local donor.

Tory group leader David Moore, who had repeatedly urged at full council meetings that refuse collection policy should not be managed in a draconian way, said that “Some of us had asked for restraint, not a court case. The council has made itself a laughing stock nationally through all the adverse publicity.”

In my view, if the council had been looking to make a public example of someone we should started with a major push to catch and prosecute fly tippers.”

The Rev John Bannister said: “It’s shaken me rigid by the way this has escalated the length and breadth of the country. Fundamentally it means to me that the council has broken faith with a large number of this community and they have to find the means of repairing that.

“What it proves is that there is a far-reaching, wide ranging issue that has to be addressed. It has affected an awful lot of people who are deeply disturbed in case they could find themselves in a similar situation.”